Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of specially contoured sleep aids in general and in particular to a specially contoured pillow construction that eliminates the compression of the user""s cheekbones and eye socket area while they are sleeping.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,813,065; 5,933,890; 5,163,195; and, 6,052,850, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse specially contoured pillow constructions designed to accommodate a broad range of individual needs.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical contoured pillow construction that will eliminate baggy or puffy eyes and cheek creases, which while only physically lasting for a short duration each morning, ultimately takes their toll on a person""s appearance primarily due to the loss of elasticity of the compressed areas of a person""s face that nightly comes into contact with the surface of a conventional pillow.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need among appearance conscious individuals for a new and improved specially contoured pillow construction that is specifically designed to eliminate the compressive contact between a pillow and the user""s eye socket and cheekbone area; and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.
Briefly stated, the facial fatigue reducing pillow construction that forms the basis of the present invention comprises in general a cushioned pillow unit provided with a pair of face relief units and a central head relief unit disposed intermediate the face relief units.
As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, the pair of face relief units are formed on opposite sides of the cushioned pillow unit; wherein, each of the face relief units is optionally provided with a removable gel-filled eye relief cup element that may be prechilled prior to use to further reduce any localized swelling of the user""s face in the vicinity of the face relief units.
In addition, the central head relief unit is designed and dimensioned to receive either side of the user""s head to position their eye socket and cheekbone over one or the other of the face relief units while also providing ample raised support for the user""s neck; and, the face and head relief units are further aligned in mirror fashion relative to the longitudinal axis of the cushioned pillow unit such that the cushioned pillow unit can be rotated 180xc2x0 in the horizontal plane and the relative positioning and dimensions of the relief units will remain virtually identical.